Herbert Bayer was one of the most extraordinary artists associated with the Bauhaus school. A
true multimedia artist he united graphic design art and architecture in a unique style that
came to represent the bold aesthetic approach of the movement. A teacher with the school until
1928 Bayer went on to become a highly successful graphic designer in Germany and later one of
the most prominent figures in the 20th-century art scene of the United States. This broad
biographical account which presents previously unseen archival photographs and episodes from
the life of Bayer and other influential Bauhaus artists such as Walter Gropius Marcel Breuer
and László Moholy-Nagy follows Bayer through the Weimar Republic Nazi Germany and finally to
his exile in the United States. Specifically Patrick Rössler reveals for the first time
Bayer's unique experience of 1930s Germany where with his commercial and artistic life
shattered by terror and censorship he distracted himself with leading a hedonistic life.
Shining a light on Bayer's time in Berlin during the Weimar Republic and his route out of the
Nazi state Rössler provides rich new insights into how Bauhaus artists navigated a protracted
period of social upheaval and dictatorship where commercial success was fraught with a deep
hostility towards the regime and the temptations of emigration. Revealing the tensions of an
avant-garde artist struggling to practice during a period of repression Herbert Bayer Graphic
Designer speaks to both the memory of those who left Nazi Germany but also the perseverance of
artists and intellectuals throughout history who have worked under authoritarian regimes.
Drawing on never before interpreted documents letters and archival material Rössler tells
Bayer's compelling story - documenting the life of a unique artist and offering a valuable
contribution to research in émigré experiences.
